


A Shoulder to Cry On

by Fluffifullness



Series: Mutual Healing [1]
Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Character Death, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Haircuts, M/M, Stopping Halfway, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-16
Updated: 2012-11-16
Packaged: 2017-11-18 20:39:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/565051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluffifullness/pseuds/Fluffifullness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When an unexpected loss throws Shizuo's life into disarray, Izaya surprises everyone - himself included - by taking on the considerable task of healing the blonde's wounds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic - together with its sequel 'One Exception' - is one of the first things written by yours truly in a pretty appreciable amount of time. It may only be because I like to think that I'm constantly improving thanks to experience, but I hope you'll chalk any clumsiness in the writing up to my being out of practice at the time.
> 
> (This was also my first attempt at writing for the _Durarara!!_ fandom. I don't necessarily handle this ship the same way now after having had time to sort through some of the crazy feels. ;)
> 
> Just some things I couldn't help pointing out after coming back to look at this with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.

_Tom rapped his knuckle against the scratched-up, unpainted door of the small apartment, cleared his throat, and opened his mouth to call its inhabitants’ attention to himself and his blonde-haired companion._

_Before he was able to do so, however, the door swung inward with surprising speed, and a gun appeared from the inner gloom, followed by the arm and body of a very frightened middle-aged man.  “B-back off! Get out of here, and take that monster back there with you! D-don’t come back!” The man, Kisaki Shiro by name, was trembling so much that Tom wondered if he could actually hit either of them, even at such close range._

_Tom sensed Shizuo grow tense behind him. He guessed that the blonde was planning on doing either of two things: beating Kisaki Shiro into an unrecognizable pulp, or protecting Tom from what seemed to be fairly imminent danger. Given the increasingly dangerous look in the man’s eyes, though, Tom couldn’t help but think that the latter was not foremost in the blonde’s mind._

_“I-I already told you guys! I can’t pay! I-I don’t have any money!”_

_Shizuo snapped._

_“Then why did you borrow so much in the first place, idiot?!” He shouted as he yanked the door off of its hinges and raised it above his head with one fluid motion. The last syllables of his question became increasingly drawn-out as the volume of his voice rose._

_The man uttered a quick shout of surprise and pulled the gun’s trigger back toward himself. The bullet spun forth from the barrel, narrowly missed Shizuo despite his being caught off guard, and caught Tom in one shoulder, sending him reeling back into the metal rails lining the balcony of the apartment building’s second floor._

_The three men were silent and wide-eyed as the echo died down into a dull humming in their ears. Tom winced. He honestly hadn’t expected Kisaki to try something this stupid in such close proximity to Ikebukuro’s strongest._

_Shizuo reacted just a bit more quickly than the other two, bringing the door down half an inch away from the terrified Shiro’s left arm and glaring down at him with a ferocity that would have had any normal person’s blood running cold in their veins._

_“Do you realize how likely a person is to die from a bullet wound? Do you know how close that just came to his heart?! If you know, then you should be prepared to die, too, huh?!!” His eyes flashed dangerously. The man turned to run, but Shizuo caught him and yanked him back, hard._

_“That’s enough for now, Shizuo,” Tom said quickly, using his good arm to drag himself to his feet. “This guy’s not in any condition to talk things over calmly.”_

_But it was too late. The nervous wreck of a debtor whipped around in one jerky, messy spasm of fear to face his guests; closed his eyes; and, with a strangled shout, pulled the trigger again._

_This second shot echoed a hundred times more loudly than had the first one. Tom’s legs gave way beneath him, his hand never quite reaching the spot where the bullet had lodged itself directly in his heart._

 

Shizuo could never remember exactly what happened next. It had been a blinding, noisy whir of events that had culminated in his being detained by the police and, after many long hours of forms, questioning, and callous treatment, being placed in a small cell with a considerable load of iron weighing him down.

But before all that, he could remember the biting sensation of metal twisting in his hands. He could remember the warm sensation of another human’s blood running in rivulets through his fingers. He could remember the two crimson stains left behind on that balcony.

And then, for weeks afterward, he could remember almost nothing at all.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

When the blonde finally regained complete consciousness, he was in Shinra’s apartment. It was chilly even under the covers of the cot he found himself lying in, and a quick glance out the window of the small guest room revealed that it was snowing outside. He gradually became aware of cheerful chatter coming from another room.

Quickly jerking several small tubes from his arms, Shizuo stood up immediately and was caught off guard by a sudden rush of dizziness. “The fuck…?” Stumbling a bit, he put out a hand to steady himself against a small dresser as he made his way toward the door.

“So, Celty, why don’t we go out for – ah!” Shinra’s incessant babbling was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a very bedraggled Shizuo. He and Celty both turned to look at him, and for several moments the room was silent except for Shizuo’s uneven breathing and the ticking of an unseen clock.

Celty was the first to react, grabbing her cell phone from the coffee table and rushing to her friend’s side.

_You need to rest for now. You can’t be wandering around like this._

Shizuo glanced at the message and then shook his head. “What? I’m fine. You’re acting like I’m about to keel over or someth-” He was interrupted by another wave of unsteadiness. He struggled back a few steps, grasped weakly for something to support him, and then found himself collapsed on the carpet with Shinra and Celty both on either side of him.

The couple watched as Shizuo regained his composure, chuckled bitterly, and muttered, “Or something, huh…?” before proceeding to address the two directly. “What’s going on here? Am I s'posed to be sick or something?”

Shinra glanced uncertainly over at Celty before turning back to his friend. “Shizuo-kun… Don’t you remember anything?”

Celty’s fingers clicked across the keypad of her phone.

_You’ve been having a pretty hard time since that day._

Shizuo narrowed his eyes. “What are you…?”

And then he remembered. A gunshot, piercingly loud. Tom, open-mouthed but silent. Blood. His breath caught in his throat as he felt his adrenaline levels rising. “That bastard,” he growled. “I’m gonna kill him!” He moved to stand, but paused when he felt an urgent hand on his shoulder.

“So, you don’t remember, then.” Shinra’s face was turned to look away from Shizuo. The lights overhead cast a glare on his glasses that prevented the blonde from reading his friend’s expression.

The metal. The noise. The blood.

Wait.

“Why do you think you’ve been laid up here for so long? When was the last time you can remember getting sick?” Shinra’s agitation was obvious now. “There’s no way that could be why you’re here!”

Celty put a hand over the doctor’s mouth to stop him. He glanced at her and went silent.

_Shizuo, he’s already dead._

“I know! I know… but I’ll be damned if I let that worm get away with it!”

Celty’s fingers ran across the keyboard with frightening intensity as Shinra looked pityingly at his friend. “That’s not it, Shizuo-kun.”

_You didn’t._

Shizuo’s eyes widened, and his body went cold. What was he supposed to do with this information? It was impossible. Inconceivable. Because for all of his violent reputation, Heiwajima Shizuo had never taken a life.


	3. Chapter 3

In less than ten seconds, Shizuo was standing before the front door, and the two long-term residents of the apartment were right on his heels.

“Oi, Shizuo-kun! Oi! Just stop a second! You can’t go outside dressed like that, anyway, can you? You’ll freeze!” Shinra’s seemingly muffled exclamation was enough to prompt Shizuo to finally inspect his own appearance. A mirror hanging on an adjacent wall afforded a pretty good perspective, but the bodyguard wasn’t prepared to take in the face staring back at him from the shadowy depths of the mirror.

His hair had grown quite a bit in the… however long he’d been so out of it. His natural brown was showing at the roots, and strands of blonde were, he realized, hanging in front of his eyes and tickling the back of his neck. A baggy pair of black sweats and an oversized white t-shirt made the weight loss stand out all the more.

Shizuo, wide-eyed, grunted and tugged at the light material of the shirt. He ran a hand through his hair and finally sighed in defeat. Turning in the direction of the bathroom, he glared back at Shinra.

“Got any bleach?”

 

Shinra, good doctor that he was, naturally had refused to allow his friend to bring corrosive laundry detergent anywhere near his hair or skin. After a quick trip to the convenience store for some peroxide-based lighteners, the brunette led Shizuo to a spacious bathroom, and the ex-bartender had found himself alone again.

Within minutes, he was standing under a hot stream of water, squinting up at the showerhead and gritting his teeth. None of his weak attempts to relax were having much of an effect, though, and he was no longer certain whether it was panic or anger that was messing with him.

“Ridiculous. This is completely ridiculous. Damn,” he muttered to himself as he stepped out of the shower and set to work on his hair. He dried it quickly and then emptied half of the dye into it as he leaned over the sink.

Shizuo was just getting ready to start in with the scissors when he heard a muffled commotion coming from the direction of the front door. He paused, curious, before turning back to the mirror, but he had only enough time to snip off the ends of a few strands on one side, for he was soon interrupted again by another commotion just outside the door of the bathroom.

“N-now’s not exactly a good time, okay?! I really don’t think this is a good idea-” But Shinra’s hastily voiced protest was cut off by a loud knock at the door.

“What the fuck?” Shizuo growled as he pulled a towel around his waist and swung the door open.

He was immediately confronted by the repulsive sight of none other than Orihara Izaya.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Izaya took in Shizuo’s half-naked form and smiled teasingly. “Goodness, Shizu-chan. Awfully bold, aren’t we, answering the door wearing nothing but a towel?”

A sharp crack resounded throughout the apartment as Shizuo’s hand demolished the door’s frame. His eyes burned with rage, but, though Shinra was sure that he could see a storm coming, the man remained where he was. Several moments passed in utter silence, and Izaya’s expectant smirk took on a shade of genuine surprise.

“Ara, ara, Shizu-chan, what’s gotten into you? Trying to act cute through submissiveness?”

“Tch.” Shizuo directed his glare toward the floor. It was all he could do to keep from crushing the flea then and there, but this situation was too familiar. He couldn’t… not yet…

Shinra regarded Shizuo’s silence with twice as much surprise as Izaya, but his friend’s obvious distress finally moved him to action. He grabbed Izaya’s hand and started pulling him in the direction of the kitchen. “Why don’t we let Shizuo-kun finish…? How about a cup of – ”

But the doctor was once again interrupted by the raven-haired man, who abruptly stopped allowing himself to be maneuvered away from the blonde. “No, thank you.” His smile was disarmingly sweet as he once again addressed Shizuo directly. “Shizu-chan, your hair’s gotten so long. You should really cut it, or you won’t be able to see properly the next time you feel the need to kill innocent humans.”

Shizuo was on the informant in a second, grabbing the front of his shirt with his right hand and deftly pinning him against the wall.  His left hand left a dent in the wall as it narrowly missed Izaya’s face. Shizuo brought his face very close to Izaya’s and shouted, “That bastard was hardly innocent, you louse! Don’t tell me you don’t remember Tom-san?! Just who killed who first, huh?!” He took an unsteady breath, loosened his grip, and partially turned away before adding, “And, I… It isn’t like I wanted to…”

Izaya’s smile widened. “Why, whatever are you talking about, Shizu-chan? The police may have decided to call that self-defense, but the rumors aren’t quite so agreeable. Most people here in ‘Bukuro figure you killed both of them.” Seeing the shock on Shizuo’s face, he continued, “It’s really not so hard to imagine, given that reputation of yours, Shizu-chan.”

The shorter man winced a bit as his attacker slammed him back into the wall with considerable force. “Oi, oi, that actually hurt a bit, Shizu-chan~!”

“Shizuo!” Shinra was standing behind the blonde now, his expression full of warning. “Let him go. I won’t say he doesn’t deserve it, but I’m sure you also know that now isn’t the time to be letting your anger get the best of you.”

“You heard the man, Shizu-chan. Why don’t we play nice for a bit, hm?” Izaya toned in. To Shinra’s surprise, Shizuo released the informant immediately, though with enough force that he had to struggle not to fall down.

“Just leave already, flea,” he grumbled before retreating back into the brightly lit bathroom. Ignoring the stares of the two men, he picked up the scissors and fumbled with them for a moment, cursing under his breath. He was taken by surprise when the raven-haired informant appeared at his side and snatched the scissors away.

“Shizu-chan, you’ll ruin that lovely head of yours if you cut it yourself. If you let me do it, I promise not to do any permanent damage.” He smiled mischievously.

And, to everyone’s surprise, the blonde quietly nodded his consent.


	5. Chapter 5

Shinra disappeared soon after that to join Celty in the living room. Both were thoroughly perplexed by Shizuo’s strange behavior, if not by Izaya’s willingness to act as Shizuo’s personal hair stylist.

Of course, Shizuo’s strangeness could arguably have been a result of almost an entire month of psychological trauma – none of which the blonde seemed to remember all that well – but that didn’t diminish the shock of seeing the two spend peaceful moments together in such alarmingly close proximity.

 

Shizuo sat in the chair that Izaya had brought for him, closed his eyes, and crossed his arms across his chest in an attempt to hide his mortification. The truth was that he really had no idea how to do things like this well, and he didn’t think that walking around Ikebukuro with his hair all mangled would improve his already worse-than-normal mood. He had no reason to trust Izaya with this, either, but somehow he was sure that the informant wouldn’t try anything funny.

And as Izaya’s slender hands grazed the sensitive skin of his exposed neck and the small sounds of hair being trimmed filled the bathroom like a heavy fog, Shizuo found himself struggling to keep his eyes open. _Dammit, I can’t just… sleep… with this bastard hanging over me like this._ But resistance was already futile. Before he knew it, the blonde was breathing deeply and slowly under the busy hands of his sworn enemy.

Izaya, having gradually noticed the change in Shizuo’s breathing, stopped and smirked down at the man. “Aw, how cute of you, Shizu-chan…” And he continued to snip at the blonde’s hair.

 

Having satisfactorily completed his task, Izaya laid down the scissors and quietly brought Shinra and Celty into the room. Yet another of many periods of extended silence welled up in the room before Shinra cut in.

“Izaya… What did you do to Shizuo?” Shinra asked, staring down at his childhood friend in disbelief. “Drugs? Or, maybe… head trauma?” He leaned over to inspect the supposed victim for wounds, but was stopped by a chop swiftly delivered by Celty to his left shoulder.

Cringing and straightening up, Shinra was just able to read the cell phone message that Celty had presented to Izaya.

_Orihara Izaya… Do you actually intend to heal Shizuo’s wounds this time?_

The informant smiled and shrugged. “Not really. This monster’s just so much fun to mess with in this condition.” But neither Celty nor Shinra missed the secret glance the informant cast back at the sleeping ex-bartender as he made his way out of the bathroom and toward the front door.

“You should probably make sure he puts on something a bit warmer. Even a monster like that catches cold in the winter,” he called back as the door swung shut behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, Shizuo stood in front of yet another mirror and glared down at himself. All things considered, he was really looking much better already, yet he couldn’t help but notice the way his usual bartender uniform hung on him where it had once fit snugly. Sighing, he ducked into the living room and called to Shinra and Celty. “Oi, I’m heading out now. Catch you later.”

A perplexed Shinra, followed closely by Celty, caught up to him as he was placing his hand on the door to go. “You’re planning to leave already? What are you going to do this soon after getting better?”

Shizuo smiled and made a sweeping gesture with his hand. “You say that, but it’s actually been quite a while, right? I’m sorry. I don’t really remember all that, but I guess I caused you guys a lot of trouble. Anyway, I should probably look for work already. You know… I’m kind of out of a job right now.” His smile turned bitter at the end, and his friends didn’t miss the touch of pain that surfaced in his voice, but all either of them could do was nod and wish him well as he turned the knob and stepped into the cold of the early morning.

 

Many long hours later, as the sun was finally setting on the bustling streets of Ikebukuro, Shizuo found an isolated park bench and took the chance to rest a bit. He had visited numerous shops, bars, and restaurants throughout the day, and he had had no luck with any of them.

Of course.

Because no self-respecting manager would allow a murderer to taint his business’s reputation.

Sighing, Shizuo pulled out a pack of cigarettes. A nearby lamp flickered on as the park entered a gloomy dusk, and a small line of smoke curled up from one end of the blonde’s cigarette. Slouching further down on the park bench, he exhaled slowly and reached up to remove his trademark sunglasses.

Having thus improved his vision in the growing night, he was suddenly able to make out a dark figure in the shadow of a nearby tree. At first he felt inclined to disregard it, assuming not unreasonably that it was just some teenaged punk looking for a fight.

Still, for safety’s sake and because he didn’t believe that he could handle having to fight and possibly do harm to anyone for the time being, he did a double-take. When he recognized the smug face and fur-lined coat of none other than Ikebukuro’s number one information broker, he sprang to his feet.

“You bastard, why did you come here?! Don’t think I’ve forgiven you for anything just because of what happened last night!”

When the informant refused to move or respond, Shizuo threw his half-smoked cigarette away and proceeded to grab Izaya by the collar in a repeat of the previous night. He only partially registered the fact that Izaya wasn’t smirking at him in his usual manner. “Say something, flea!” he growled, hoping to shake off the strange feeling that something was off about this encounter. The bastard was breaking their usual pattern at the worst possible time.

“You asked what I came here for, Shizu-chan. Let’s see, then… I just can’t help but worry about your well-being under all that stress.” Izaya smiled then, and it was so nearly sincere that Shizuo almost released the man for sheer surprise and confusion. “And about last night… Try being a bit more grateful, okay? Your hair looks nice, if I do say so myself.” His voice was so flirtatious by this point that Shizuo could almost hear the heart-shaped emoticon in it.

“You bastard, quit jerking me around! You? Worried about me? As if that would ever happen, jerk! You’re the last person I would expect to hear that crap from. And I’m not going to thank you for something you chose to do on a whim!”

“You’re right in saying that I chose to do it, Shizu-chan, but it wasn’t quite what I’d call a whim. There was definitely some…” Izaya brought his hand to Shizuo’s cheek and pulled him in for a kiss.

“…forethought involved.”

And, for the second time in twenty-four hours, Shizuo quietly released the informant without dealing out any punches. His face went red in a second, and he struggled for words. “Y-you – what do you think you’re d-doing!?” he finally managed to choke out.

“Exactly what I feel like doing, Shizu-chan.” But, despite the confidence in his voice, Izaya looked almost as confused and embarrassed as Shizuo did.

Shizuo placed one hand on his chest and felt his heart thumping wildly. He was short of breath, and as he instinctively reached up with the intention of ripping off a thick overhanging tree branch, he couldn’t help but pull back. What was with this reaction? Of all the ridiculous and impossible things that had happened to him in a month, this situation had to be the most ridiculous and impossible of all.

Laughing nervously and avoiding Izaya’s prying eyes, he started to ramble. “Really, you shouldn’t joke around like that. I swear, this sort of thing is just disgusting. And totally sketchy.” He turned as if to walk away. “God, I’m gonna be sick. Well, I’d better find some place to stay the night. Damn landlady turned me out like-”

“Stay at my place, then!” Izaya reached out and took hold of the cuff of the ex-bartender’s sleeve.

Shizuo stopped, turned back. “What?” The informant’s expression was hidden from him in the gloom, and Shizuo was glad for that. He didn’t want to know what might happen if he had to face anything akin to affection, desperation… _anything_ on the face of his supposed enemy.

“All teasing aside, Shizu-chan, why don’t you just hear me out? It’ll only cost you a few hot minutes, and it’s not like you have anything in particular to do, right?” What was this? This pleading tone coming from the infamous Orihara Izaya?

This was dangerous. Heiwajima Shizuo was standing at the edge of a precipice. It was really about time for some evasive maneuvers. “Like hell, flea. I’ve already wasted enough time on you to last me a month.”

But when Shizuo started walking in the direction he had first come, he found that Izaya had not released his grip on the blonde’s sleeve. And, as the informant started to speak, he felt his will weakening. He stayed where he was, and he listened to the dangerous words and the beating of his own heart.

“Shizu-chan, you know how I feel about humans, right? I love them! There’s nothing more interesting than the human race. But, aside from Shinra and that select group of people who happen to share some of my physical characteristics, there has never been anyone whom I would have considered a ‘friend.’

“You’re the one exception to all that, though. You, who I thought I hated. You aren’t the same as a human. You’re a monster that kills and destroys without restraint. Yet you feel! Just like a human, you possess morals and you struggle in the face of grief! It’s unforgivable! Your existence is an enigma. You don’t belong anywhere!

“And yet you, too, possess ‘friends.’ And I, despite all my love for those miserable creatures known as human beings, am truly alone.”

“Izaya...kun…” Shizuo mentally shook himself. “You’re not explaining yourself well at all. What does that have to do with… this?”

The informant sighed and cuddled up to Shizuo’s chest, ignoring the blonde’s obvious discomfort. “I don’t know. I’ve tried and tried to figure this out, and it’s endlessly infuriating. You, the greatest bug in the system, make me _feel_ in a completely different way. I’ve occupied myself with solving the riddle for a while now, but I can’t think of anything to call it but love. It really is… infuriating. You destroy every value, rationale, and thought that rules me, and I can’t even come up with a valid reason for it all. So…” Izaya again brought his hand to Shizuo’s cheek and guided him into a gentle kiss. “…I demand that you take responsibility.”

Shizuo was quiet for a time. He let himself be guided into a vertical position under Izaya on the soft grass, and he made no protest as the raven-haired man deftly removed his bowtie and set to work on the vest. But, as Izaya began to fiddle with the buttons of his white dress shirt, Shizuo growled and sat up. Izaya stumbled back, and, to his utmost surprise, Shizuo quickly took the opportunity to grab ahold of Izaya’s jacket and roughly pull it off of him.

“Shizu-chan, could it be that you-”

“Shut it, flea,” the blonde growled. His face was flushed, and his breath was as short as ever. “Don’t take this the wrong way. I just need a little stress relief, you know?”

“Hmph. Liar.” And there was that smug smirk. Pissed off, Shizuo dealt with the shorter man’s black V-neck much more violently. The sound of ripping fabric resounded loudly in the quiet park.

And then Izaya was on top of Shizuo again. After finally casting off the last article of clothing covering his bare chest, the informant quickly proceeded to pull his companion’s belt from its loops.

Before long, both men were completely naked and breathing hard. Their breath formed barely visible clouds of condensation in the increasingly frigid air of the winter night.

“I ran into the headless rider earlier, you know. She seems to have figured me out already,” Izaya started. He was interrupted by an involuntary moan as Shizuo began to clumsily fondle his member. “H-hold it, Shizu-chan.”

“Quit talking already, Izaya-kun,” Shizuo growled. To his redundant surprise, Izaya slipped out from underneath him and sat watching him intently. “The fuck are you-”

“It’s rude to ignore people when they’re talking to you, Shizu-chan. Listen. That woman told me something interesting about you.” He reached for his coat and began to redress – minus his V-neck. “She said that despite all the breakdowns, the memory loss, the whatever else you went through for a month, you never once cried.”

“What does that have to do with what we were-” But Shizuo was once again interrupted as Izaya tossed him his dress shirt.

“So, she gave me some advice. I’m really not the type to take advice, Shizu-chan, and I’m certainly not the type to concern myself with petty emotions or caring for others, but…”

“But?” Shizuo was annoyed. He wanted this, maybe. His body definitely did. Why would Izaya stop when he’d so clearly been enjoying it, too?

“Ah, it’s a bit embarrassing, but I guess it’s because I genuinely care about you, Shizu-chan. No, that’s wrong. Maybe it’s that I want to explore what it means to ‘care’ for someone. That’s why we can’t. Not yet.”

“Izaya, you rat, you can’t just start something like this and then stop for some dumb reason like that!”

“Shizu-chan.” Izaya was already fully clothed again. He knelt before Ikebukuro’s strongest man, put his hands on his shoulders, and, for one more time in twenty-four hours, completely stupefied him. “I need to offer you a shoulder to cry on. And you need to accept that offer!”

The surrounding landscape went silent, and Shizuo’s eyes widened.

After the longest time, the silence was finally broken by a short chuckle. It quickly grew to great peals of laughter that boomed even louder thanks to the natural deepness of Shizuo’s voice, and those died down to nothing just as quickly. And then the blonde was shaking with quiet sobs.

Izaya, at first taken aback by the quick compliance of the normally badass ex-bartender, soon responded by drawing Shizuo into his arms and waiting quietly for him to stop.

 _Why?_ Shizuo wondered. There was no reason for him to be less guarded around this man, of all people. _Why…?_

But, then, maybe it didn’t matter.

Wiping away some stray traces of moisture from around his eyes, Shizuo finally took a deep breath and gathered up his clothes. “Well, it is pretty late, right? How about you show me the way back to your place, flea?”

 

Within minutes, the two were turning the heads of a few acquaintances and passersby who would never have believed it possible to see both Heiwajima Shizuo and Orihara Izaya making their peaceful way together through the animated streets of Ikebukuro.


End file.
